Having just seen a film in which there were a large number of rats, I was reminded of a story my mother told me several times. When she was a young girl, in Snitterfield, Warwickshire, she was lucky enough to have a bicycle and used to ride all round the nearby countryside. One day whilst crossing Yarningdale Common in about 1920, she saw what appeared to be a brown carpet across the road, several feet wide. As she drew closer, she saw movement, and being a young girl and a bit nervous, she stopped, got off her bike and slowly approached. Then she realised that it was rats, hundreds of rats, crossing the road and moving off across the common. She didn't stick around to see what happened and cycled home in a hurry. Of course everyone in the village soon learned of her experience and several other people told her and my grandfather - who was the local blacksmith - of similar experiences of "rats on the move", both in Warwickshire and elsewhere. Has anyone else heard similar tales ? Tell us about them !
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